A billiard table is widely used in a variety of games, such as eight ball, snooker, etc. In all of these games players commonly use a cue stick to hit a white cue ball, which in turn strikes a colored numbered ball, known as an object ball, which the players direct into the pockets of the billiard table. The cue ball and object balls are returned together in a standard billiard table but the cue ball and object balls are segregated via mechanical or magnetic means in the typical commercial table of the prior art.
In a commercial table, it is desirable to segregate the cue ball from the object balls so that the cue ball is returned to the players all times, while the object balls are being collected in a central location. In existing commercial tables, the cue ball is either larger than the object balls or the cue ball has a magnetic core to allow the cue ball to be physically segregated from the object balls. Both of these physical changes to the cue ball affect the play of the cue ball and therefore detract from the competitiveness of games.
By detecting the presence of a regular-sized, standard cue ball (without a magnetic core) within a standard set of object balls and then by sorting the cue ball from the object balls, the play of games would be significantly enhanced. In addition, the development of a regulation commercial table would be possible.